Monster Chamber, the power of local design by Andrea de Chirico
The designer pays tribute to the city of Turin with a furniture collection that brings architectural and cultural references into the domestic space, while reusing a local waste material and suggesting new production models.
Monster Chamber is the name that designer Andrea de Chirico (ADC) has given to his new furniture collection, the result of a three-year research project that began in the city of Turin, to which it pays homage, and concluded in Rome, where the designer’s studio, Superlocal Hub, is located.
As with every ADC project, Monster Chamber begins with an in-depth exploration of local material culture, waste streams, and manufacturing practices, with the goal of producing bespoke pieces that are not only visually captivating but also environmentally responsible.
For this specific collection, Andrea worked with reclaimed wood and experimented with the scagliola process, a technique typical of the Piedmont region used in architecture and sculpture, originally developed to imitate marble and stone using plaster.
After studying and experimenting with the Scagliola Association of Rima, in Piedmont, Andrea reinterpreted this traditional craft by creating a new recipe starting from recycled paper donated by the local health authority in Turin (ASL). In a process of reclaiming waste, the designer created a new blend that includes, in addition to paper, organic/natural glue, color pigments, and plaster. The manufacturing process involves mixing these components, casting them in molds, drying, and then smoothing them to enhance the beauty of the composition.
As mentioned, the collection pays tribute to Turin and its local culture, not only in its technique but also in the aesthetic of each piece in the series: a bedroom set including a table, lamp, bed, mirror, and a selection of accessories, all referencing architectural and artistic elements, both historical and contemporary, from the city of Turin.
Going into detail, we find the Guarino bed, made of reclaimed wood, whose headboard visually references the eyes of the statue of the god Moloch, featured in the film Cabiria (1914), directed by Giovanni Pastrone and scripted by Gabriele D’Annunzio, on display at the National Museum of Cinema in Turin. The Guarino Lamp and Table were conceived as a pair, echoing the forms of the dome of the Chapel of the Holy Shroud, designed by Guarino Guarini at the end of the 17th century.
The pen holder set takes inspiration from the sarcophagi at the Egyptian Museum and is used by ADC to showcase the different visual effects of the new material, while the Guarino Mirror evokes the pop design of Ettore Sottsass Jr., who was trained in Turin. Guarino Table 2, unlike the first single-material table, uses reclaimed wood and the new material applied as a tile for the tabletop. All pieces are self-produced by ADC in his workshop and finished by hand.
However, Monster Chamber is more than just a collection of household items; it presents a layered narrative of meanings and references. One particularly significant design element of the series is color. Inspired by the book A Dictionary of Color Combinations, Andrea de Chirico experimented with color by starting from various powdered pigments.
Each shade has its own unique composition and therefore reacts differently to drying processes, the production of the furniture, and final costs. As the designer explains: “Darker pigments often tend to be more invasive: they penetrate materials more deeply, tend to saturate surfaces, and alter the final appearance more incisively.” A clear example is the green pigment found in some of the pieces: the designer used Verde Brentonico, a natural inorganic mineral pigment derived from earth extracted in the Verona area, near the town of Brentonico.
Monster Chamber is not just a domestic product collection; it’s a manifesto of the designer’s research and approach: material experimentation begins with a waste product donated by a local organization, in this case, paper, thus suggesting new production models that enhance the value of discarded materials. The aesthetic component is a clear reference to the local culture and architecture of Turin, as is the use of natural pigments, each of which carries the history of its place of origin.
Currently, Andrea de Chirico is already working on his next collection, which will take inspiration from the Garbatella neighborhood in Rome, where his studio is now based. On his new website, you can follow his research, purchase objects through the integrated e-commerce platform, and subscribe to the newsletter.
